Coloured Foam Art for Preschoolers

When my two little girls were even littler I used to put shaving foam in a zip lock bag for them to play with.  It never held their attention for a huge amount of time. But then I had never thought to put food colouring along side it.  It was this which gave me a seed of an idea for some free play during our one hour art time: coloured foam art.

Read more! The original idea for messy preschool art

Colouring the Foam

I filled the zip lock bag with pink food colouring and sprayed in some cheap shaving foam. For a deeper colour, I added in some extra food colouring at the end.  I gave them to the children, The girls needed to play and mold the foam until it was all pink. They both enjoyed it so much more with a colour inside as well.

Creating Coloured Foam Art

First With Just the Foam

After it was all mixed I snipped a little hole in the corner of the bag and showed them how to empty it, icing a cake style. B2 so got the hang of it straight away and had lots of fun playing with coloured foam. A4 did it with less abandonment, but still seemed to enjoy it.

Next With Some Brushes and Sponges

I gave the girls some pastry brushes and bath sponges to spread the foam all over the paper. They both really, really enjoyed this! Although A4 used her hands more than anything else! B2 was perplexed as to what the sponge actually was. They made great progress along the table.

Some Spray Bottles with Coloured Water

Just for fun, and to prolong the activity for a little bit longer, I gave the girls a spray bottle each with some blue water:

A4 has been asking all week could she please do the foam thing again.  A hit I think!

For more ideas: Check out my preschool science series with lots of fizz, colour and lots and lots of mess